Visual Journey of Motherhood: The Effects of Art Therapy Intervention for New Mothers Experiencing Increased Stress and Negative Affect

Abstract

This study examined whether an art therapy intervention for first-time mothers with babies under the age of one would be effective in lowering their levels of anxiety, depression and stress as measured by the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI: Y-6 item), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Parenting Stress Scale (PSS). An open studio art group (art without therapy) and a family club (support without art or therapy) served as controls, in order to discriminate the aspects of art making and support with other mothers with babies. A total of 47 mothers participated in this study. It was hypothesized that mothers participating in the six-week art therapy group would indicate more improvement in their levels of anxiety, depression and stress compared to the two control groups. No significant differences were observed among the three groups, however, there was a trend toward greater improvement in all three measurements in the open studio art group. This result points to future explorations of art therapy and art as methods of prevention and treatment among first-time mothers who are healthy, who are at risk and who are suffering from postpartum mood disorders. This study contributes to the limited but growing number of empirical studies in the field of art therapy, and to the need for greater awareness in societies on the important issue of postpartum wellbeing.